Interactive murder mystery

This play is an interactive murder mystery, the performers will involve the audience throughout. It is set in the 1920's and each character has a reason to murder Red cloak. My job is to apply the make-up to the performers, keeping to what the head make-up artist has designed. I will work with the head make-up artist and production team to make sure I am bringing to life their vision for the Characters. I began looking at equipment and products we already had and started to think about anything else we may need.

Characters:

Red cloak

Detective

Countess

Dragon

Weasel

Wolf

Hare

Stag

Dove

Products we needed:

Metal make up palette: This is for health and safety reasons as it will be easy to keep clean and we will be able to mix products such as foundations to create the perfect shade match for the actor.
Garnier micellar water for sensitive skin: When removing makeup from an actor it is important to cleanse twice to ensure the makeup has been removed from their skin. This product is targeted towards sensitive skin which makes it ideal for everyone, it is less likely to cause a reaction to the skin.
Antiviral and antibacterial brush spray: This product has a quick dry formula which provides a quick and easy way to clean brushes for each performers makeup application. By having a quick drying formula we can easily time how long it is going to take between each actor to apply make up.
Bobby pins: We have ordered these in the three main natural hair colours; black, brown and blonde. We are going to use these for pinning, styling and keeping hair in place. Having these three main colours means it is more likely they are going to match the actors hair colour if not dyed a non natural colour.
Tail comb set: for styling hair.
Wet look hair gel: After researching hair from the 1920s in particular for men their hair is quite slick so the hair gel is going to help their hair look that way and keep it in place. We already have a couple of bottles in our kit but we have ordered extra so we ensure we do not run out.
Foundation
Blush: There are two new blush palettes, one of which is a range of pink shades which will be good for creating a bold cheek as this was a key part of 1920's makeup. We have a beige blush too for make-up that has bold eyes and/or lips.
Lipsticks: We have bought 6 more lipsticks so we have a range of red, pink and nude shades available to use, suitable for the characters.

Basic face make-up required for all actors:

The first step, under foundation I will start with a primer, this will help make-up last longer and provides a a smooth base for foundation. Next I will use a foundation that match's their skin tone, the foundation will give an even skintone and once set with powder, it will stay in place even longer. Powder can prevent shine from natural oils on the face and lights directed at the actors. Powder mattifies which is why it is ideal for the illuminating foundations, which may require more touch ups than someone who is using a matte foundation.

To prepare Basia and I worked together testing out different shade combination to suit each actor. Every actor has the same 2 foundations. We wrote down how many pumps of each we needed, which will make it easy to be sure they are going to get the right shade.

Faith:

2-3 pumps of body collection illuminating foundation.

1 pump of W7 very vegan foundation.

1-2 lip brushes of 03 Handaiyan lipstick

Sam:

1 pump of body collection illuminating foundation.

2 pumps of W7 very vegan foundation.

Phoebe:

2 pumps of Body collection illuminating foundation.

1 pump of W7 very vegan foundation.

Thomas:

1 pump of Body collection illuminating foundation.

Charlotte:

2 pumps of Body collection illuminating foundation.

2 pumps of W7 very vegan foundation.

Kian:

3 pumps of W7 very vegan foundation.

1 pump of Body collection foundation.

Ryan:

3 pumps of W7 very vegan foundation.

1 1/2 pumps of Body collection illuminating foundation.

Holly-anne

2 pumps of W7 very vegan foundation.

1 pump of Body collection illuminating foundation.

Basia

2 pumps of body collection illuminating foundation

2 pumps of W7 very vegan foundation

Dragon(fru)

The theme colour of this design is red to represent a dragon. Over the entire eyelid will be a red shimmer which I believe represents the fire of a dragon. Mascara has been added to make the eye stand out and nicely accompany the eyeshadow. Lips will be a deep red, almost maroon. A bold colour like this perfectly represents the decade and the characters personality.

Lion/hare (Charlotte and fru)

For Charlotte's character the original colour theme was yellow but had to be changed to orange because the yellow eyeshadow shade was not visible with the lights. Lip colour was originally pink but after discussion, we think red would be suitable for the character because red is a bold strong colour and the lion is a strong character.

For Phoebes character we are choosing neutral shades with a pink lip. Phoebe's character is pretending to be rich when in fact she is losing her money, this character is the only one without a bold colour which I think shows she is the odd one out of the group, she does not quite fit in. and pink lips as its lighter than red which represent her slowly losing her money

Bluebird (Hollyann)

Theme colour for bluebird is blue. The blue shade will be all over the eyelid, this will stand out and the audience will be able to see the link with the character. The make-up designer has chosen a pink lip product which compliment the blue nicely.

Foundation set up

I have kept all the products I need next to eachother, this will make it easy to grab the product I need and save some time looking for them in the makeup box. I have made sure the palette and foundation brush are clean before using by spraying with the antibacterial brush spray and a cotton pad to wipe clean and then letting them dry for 2 minutes as it is stated on the spray bottle to leave that long. I have santiser included on the set up as I will need to use this before applying any make up and if I need it at any point during the process. I have cotton pads and micellar water ready to correct anything or remove any makeup.

First application of makeup for Dove

I did not apply primer because we have one bottle and need to buy more. I mixed 2 foundations until I got the right shade and applied to her face with a flat brush. I did prime the eyes so I could see how the eye shadow applies to it, the primer is going to help the eye shadow apply and stay throughout the show.I started with a bright pink shade across the eye, the first eye I applied to had not completely dried so it did not look pigmented and did not blend well, in the next application of this look, I will make sure the primer has dried before applying the shadow by leaving it for roughly a minute. When applying the pink shade I made sure I tapped the brush to get the excess product off the brush. It was difficult to blend as we currently have just one blending brush, but next time applying we will have more. I used a shimmer pink shade in the middle of her eye to ensure the shade can be seen. I cleaned the edges with micellar water and a cotton bud, I covered the cotton bud in the water and just swiped across to get a winged effect and cleaned up the fall out. To avoid fall out in the future, I will apply the eye shadow first and brush of the fallout with a fluffy brush. I set her face with powder, removing any shine from her face. Following the face chart I was given, the designer wanted pink blush for this character, so I mixed to pink shades and started to apply. I started to apply the blush from the middle of her cheeks and then tried to blend which was difficult so I ended up blending upwards around eyebrow area. One cheek was more pigmented than the other but it was difficult with the brush. The lip brush was not very good, it was fraying but I manged to apply it over her lips.

The lion

The main colour focus for this character was orange, representing a lion. We had not completely decided on lip colour, so we tried the red and it worked well with the orange. We chose a beige blush colour because it works best with the look, red and orange particularly are already bold colours and the main focus for this character so we did not want too many strong colours . When testing it with the lights in the theatre, the makeup is clearly visible which is what we needed to confirm during this process.

The bluebird

Main focus for this character is making sure there is blue is visible, I had to try different blue shades as some were not visible enough in natural lighting so that confirmed it would not be visible in the lighting for the show. Once I tried the darker blues it was clear these were shades I would need to use for show. The head make-up artist and I discussed that it would be best keeping the lip a natural colour and the blush a beige colour, overall it looked better with the blue. The original lip colour was a shade of pink, I think pink could have worked, however, the main focus was the blue for the bluebird.

The hare

The hare's make-up is very natural. Finding a gold shimmer that could be seen on her eyes was difficult so I have tried to build it up as best I could, using more than one gold shimmer shade.

The dragon

The actor has applied their own base which they have told us they will be doing for the show. The red is clearly visible and will need to be seen with the lights for the show.

The countess

Originally we were going to use a gold shade on the actor's eyes but we could not see it under the lights so after discussing what we could do,we decided to go with purple. I applied the purple and it worked a lot better. When applying the beauty mark I was advised by the head make-up artist to make it big, we need the audience to be able to see it from a distance.

The links below I am considering using as the hairstyles I am going to do for the actors. I have conducted some research into the hairstyles for women in the 1920s so we can be as accurate as possible, we have not been given a specific year of the decade so I have tried to find a general idea of what would have been the most common hairstyles.

The main facts I found out about the hairstyles in that decade were that short hair was the most popular hairstyle for women during the time because cut hair represented freedom for women. Not all women did cut their hair however, so they would make their long hair look short. More styles included; long ringlet curls, gathered up loose curls pinned to their head, half up/half down with a headscarf and hair is kept down away from the eyes. I considered whether there were specific hairstyles for the evening or an event and found out women's hair were kept up, so we must keep this in mind when deciding on hairstyles for the actors.

Below are links to tutorials to hairstyles that we have decided work best for the character:

Countess:

Lion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3q22k-qUV8&list=PL813EXLlbOt_MMMDYBEwr15eX1OcXRueQ&index=4

Bluebird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3q22k-qUV8&list=PL813EXLlbOt_MMMDYBEwr15eX1OcXRueQ&index=4

Dragon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3q22k-qUV8&list=PL813EXLlbOt_MMMDYBEwr15eX1OcXRueQ&index=4

Hare:

Dove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW5mHADxYhU&list=PL813EXLlbOt_MMMDYBEwr15eX1OcXRueQ&index=2

The male actors will style their hair how they prefer with hair gel, each one will have their own comb.

First hairstyle trial for the countess

This hairstyle is called the gibson tuck, Faiths hair was slightly too short for this style as her could not be pinned in place. I will continue to research and trial more hairstyles.

First hairstyle trial for Lion

I used a hair band to tie the actors hair up and then twisted the ponytail to create a bun, and tried to make secure by using another hairband and bobby pins to keep in place. I pulled her hair slightly at the sides to keep her hair just covering the ear as this was the style of the 1920's.

First hairstyle trial for the hare

I started by brushing Phoebe's hair, once that was completed I decided to apply some hair gel to help create a sleek look. Firstly I tied up her hair and created a bun. I began using bobby pins to secure the bun and keep it in place however the Hare is a drunk character so to reflect this I pulled random strands out of her hair, but not so much that she loses that upper class look.

Second trial of the hairstyle for the lion

This time I applied some hair gel throughout the actors hair to create a sleek look, it is important for the actors hair to be secure and keep stray hair pinned because the Lion is an army general and it is important they present themselves neat and tidy.I managed to pin the bun better into place. This is going to be the Lion's hair for the show, I have requested for the actor to come in with straight hair, however if they prefer wavy hair, that is okay.

Second hairstyle for the countess

I decided to try and put this actors hair into a bun, which worked, I need to focus on pinning it into place better as some strands of hair stuck out. This is likely to be the final hairstyle for the countess.

First hairstyle for the dragon

This hairstyle work very well for this character. The actor has long hair which is suitable for this style as I had to plait the hair and make into a bun. I pulled the side of her hair to cover her ear slightly. everything was secured with bobby pins.

I found creating this was quite easy, the style fits for the 1920's , I felt his worked well since the actor had quite long hair. I start by leaving two pieces of hair in front and with the rest create plait, tie and then fold into a bun. I secure it in place with bobby pins so it does not move. Finally with the strands left at the front I wrap them around the front and pin into place. I kept referring back to the youtube video to make sure I was doing it correctly and I feel confident recreating this in future rehearsals/shows.

I noticed myself feeling more confident applying the make-up this time, we had brought new products and the blue shades were limited however the shimmer showed up well.

We kept the hair simple for this character. her hair kept down but curled (by actor), we used to pieces to pin and use an accessory. I think this works well for the character because having short hair in the 1920's represented freedom and though the character is young, she has a very protective sister who hardly seems to let her be alone.

The shimmer showed up very well, but I noticed there was a lot of fallout and it was difficult to get off the skin. When applying the shimmer I had to put a lot on the brush and pat it on the eyelid so there were not patches with no shimmer.

Hair is going to be kept in a simple bun, pinned secure into place. A front piece of hair will be curled and pinned to the side loosely to almost look like a faux side fringe.

Purple eyeshadow blended really well, the natural lip colour compliments the light eyeshadow shade. To create a less harsh application I hold the brush higher up to have more control.

First go at creating this hairstyle for the dragon. I referred back to the video when trying this out. I have made sure I can get her hair to cover her ears slightly by tying her hair more loosely whilst still keeping the bun secure enough with pins. This hairstyle works particularly well for this character because of her being the protective big sister of the dove, it shows how she is older and though not a bob has more freedom compared to her sister who has hair untied.

I tried adding a darker shades, in particular to the outer corner. I have previously just had two red shades and a shimmer red but the actor suggested maybe a smokey eye for the dragon which I agreed with. The darker shade has definitely worked but next time I will not take the dark shade so far across because I would like the shimmer to pop more.

Make-up application

Face: Primer is applied to the face first to create a smooth base for make-up and help the foundation stay on longer. I apply this with the flat foundation brush. Once primer is on, I mix the foundation shade needed for the actor on the metal pallete with the metal spatula. To set the foundation I use a large fluffy brush and press into the loose powder, I tap the brush to get off any excess powder, I mainly focus on the T zone but apply all over the face.

Eyes: I apply the eyeshadow with a smaller eye brush, to blend it I use a clean larger fluffy blending brush, For shimmer shades I use a flat brush, this gives a more intense colour.

Lips: The lip brushes we had before did not work very well, instead I started using the cotton buds we had and it applied the lipstick well and it was easier to use.

Blush: Using a smaller angled brush applies just the right amount of blush, I tap off the excess and lightly apply to the face and build up the colour if needed.

Health and safety

Risk assessment

Expired make-up

During the rehearsals I found out that some of the make-up we had was possibly expired. We then had to go and buy some new products to replace the expired ones. The symbol on Make-up products is a small container with a lid lifted upwards it shows how many moths you can use it for such as 6M (6 months). To ensure we do not use any expired products in the future. I have made a list of products we have purchased, when we purchased them and the date they expire.

Penultimate show

When planning hair and make-up for the show, we had to consider timings of it, we came to the conclusion that it would take too much time for me to do it by myself so, myself, Basia (head of make-up) and Phoebe (actor) would work as a team and each have our own specific areas to focus on. Basia was in charge of everyones hair, I guided her previous to the day on each hairstyle so that she felt confident on the day which she was. Phoebe was in charge of applying base makeup and I was in charge of applying lipstick, eyeshadow and blush.

We started setting up at 8.00am to be ready to start applying make-up at 8.30am , the show was starting at 10.30am. The photo to the left is how we set up the hair and make-up. We set the three tables, one for base makeup, one for hair and a third (where I worked) for eyeshadow, blush and lipstick. I set my table neatly so I could see product clearly. I ended up moving the bin closer to where we were all working so we did not have to keep walking over to the bin so far as we had limited time. We worked well as a team as we communicated with eachother, checking to see who had what makeup applied. The order we wanted everyone to follow was: hair, eye makeup, base makeup and finally lipstick and blush.

Set up of the table I had. I start by spraying the table with anti-bacterial spray and wiping with a cotton pad, I did this so the table was clean before putting the make-up and brushes on. I made sure I had brush cleaner spray and cotton pads, so that I could clean brushes between each application. I had micellar water and cotton buds ready in case I needed to clean up any make-up. I made sure each product I was going to be using that day was set so I did not waste time looking for them.

The final show!

We began applying makeup at 4pm, our show was at 6pm. As I was setting up the tables I noticed we did not have many cotton pads left so the head of make-up was able to get some on her way to the room. The rest of the process went smoothly. This time took slightly longer, most likely because I did hair and make-up for Charlotte (the lion) but I did it with enough time to spare. On the day teamwork was especially present because we had actors stepping in helping apply base make-up, which helped us get every performer ready even quicker. Looking back I was very confident in what I was doing as I had done this hairstyle and make-up for the lion several times.

Review of show make-up application and hair

Feedback from audience:

"That make-up looks so good on you!" (To the dragon)

"You look beautiful! such cool make-up" (To the dragon)

Feedback from Felicia Mills (Wardrobe manager):

"Faith and I as the wardrobe managers were working closely with the make-up and hair design team. We discussed at the first production meeting that we are going to colour code the costumes and make-up of the characters e.g. Bluebird should wear a blue dress and her make-up should match the dress, so blue eyeshadow with a natural lip colour to leave focus on the eyes. We all wanted the characters' hair to represent the 1920's and give a vintage feeling. Emily was brilliant to work with. She took her role seriously and did a thorough research on the era and the correct way of applying make-up and hair products.Her work strongly helped our vision come true and elevated the appearance of the actors. She also made me feel more confident to perform on stage because I felt beautiful and appropriately dressed for my character The Dragon."

I received positive feedback from both audience members and performers. Overall the hair and make-up went smoothly, any problems we did have such as running out of cotton rounds we were able solve quickly, we all worked well as a team,including actors, we all helped each other which meant actors were in costume, had their hair and make-up done with plenty of time to spare before the show. Stage manager, kept us updated on the time we had left and we communicated what we had left to do.What I have learned from this experience is to trust yourself, particularly during show days, sometimes colours of eyeshadow did not work how they did before or how I imagined but I avoided panicking and thought about what the solution was. Setting up three tables helped us effectively use our limited time, performers could go from one table to the next, we were able to set up each table with all equipment needed, making everything run smoothly. As we have applied make-up throughout rehearsals we knew it could be seen in the lights and worked for the final show.

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